Hawaii Unemployment Eligibility

Hawaii Benefits

To establish a valid unemployment claim, you must meet the following qualifications.

Non-Monetary Eligibility

You must be unemployed through no fault of your own

You must participate in Reemployment Services

You must be registered for work within seven calendar days after applying for unemployment benefits by posting your resume online at www.hirenethawaii.com

You must quit or get fired for “good cause” connected with work

Monetary Eligibility

You must have been paid wages in two or more calendar quarters of your base period and,

You must also have been paid wages totaling 26 times your weekly benefit amount in your base period.

Base Period: The standard base period is the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the effective date of your claim. The effective date of your claim is the Sunday of the week in which you first apply. If you do not qualify using the standard base period, an alternate based period can be used. The alternate base period is the last 4 completed calendar quarters.

Note: If you do not qualify using the standard base period, an alternate base period consisting of the last 4 completed quarters can be used instead.

If you worked in other states besides Hawaii (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands) in the base period of your claim, you may be able to combine the wages to meet the necessary monetary qualifications or to increase your weekly benefit amount.

Eligibility Questions

What happens if I am fired?

In a discharge or suspension, the employer is the moving party and therefore has the burden of proof to show that your actions or omissions should be considered misconduct connected with your work. To be considered misconduct, there must be a deliberate violation or disregard of the duties, responsibilities, or standards of behavior that an employer has a right to expect from an employee, or carelessness or negligence of such seriousness or repetition as to show wrongful intent or evil design.

Disqualification is until you have been paid wages in covered employment of five times your weekly benefit amount after the week in which you separated from work.’

For a suspension, you will be disqualified from one to four weeks immediately following the week of suspension.

What if I am laid off?

Unemployment benefits are designed to help those who lost their jobs through reasons beyond their own control.

If you get laid off because the business can’t afford him, you are usually eligible for unemployment benefits. If you were laid off because you weren’t right for the job, then also you may be eligible to collect unemployment.

When you get laid-off, it is not your fault. Getting laid-off doesn’t mean that you were fired or you did something wrong. Once you get laid-off from your job, you should immediately apply for unemployment benefits.

Can I get unemployment benefits if I quit my job voluntarily?

A “voluntary quit” occurs when you initiate your job separation and, therefore, have the burden of proof to present sufficient facts to show good cause for leaving work. “Good cause” means that there is a real, substantial, or compelling reason, or a reason that would cause a reasonable and prudent worker, genuinely and sincerely desirous of maintaining employment, to take similar action. Such a worker is expected to try reasonable alternatives before terminating the employment relationship.

Disqualification is until you have been paid wages in covered employment of five times your weekly benefit amount after the week in which you separated from work.

Yes. If you worked for the federal government in the past 18 months, you should have your Standard Form 8, Standard Form 50 or pay stubs available.

If you were in the military in the past 18 months, you must present your Member 4 of the DD-214. For ex-military servicepersons, you can choose to file your unemployment claim against any state regardless of where you were stationed in the military. However, you must be in that state at the time of filing. If you want to file against Hawaii, you must be in Hawaii at the time you apply for the initial claim for benefits and thereafter, you can relocate to another state and continue to file for benefits on your Hawaii claim.

I was recently let go from my job. I had asked to go back to school and still work full time, which was agreed upon on both sides. Then my boss tells me that I’m not doing the same amount of work and “let me go.” I am in Hawaii and want to know if I can file for unemployment.